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Supernatural
Supernatural is an American television series, created by Eric Kripke, which was first broadcast on September 13, 2005, on The WB, and subsequently became part of successor The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the two brothers as they hunt demons, ghosts, monsters and other supernatural beings in the world. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television, in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision. The current executive producers are Eric Kripke, McG, and Robert Singer. Former excutive producer, Kim Manners, died of lung cancer during production of the fourth season. "The zap2it" The series is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and surrounding areas, and was in development for nearly ten years, as creator Kripke spent several years unsuccessfully pitching it. The pilot was viewed by an estimated 5.69 million viewers, "The ABC Media Net" and the ratings of the first four episodes prompted The WB to pick up the series for a full season. Originally, Eric Kripke planned the series for three seasons, but later expanded it to five. The fifth season began airing on September 10, 2009, and concluded the series' main storyline; "The BuddyTV" however, The CW officially renewed the show for a sixth season on February 16, 2010. "The zap2it" On April 26, 2011, the show was renewed for a seventh season for the 2011-12 season, which began on September 23, 2011. "The TV by the Numbers, zap2it" On May 3, 2012, Supernatural was renewed for an eighth season by The CW with Jeremy Carver replacing Sera Gamble as co-showrunner with Robert Singer. "The TV by the Numbers, zap2it" "The Deadline" On February 11, 2013, The CW renewed the series for a ninth season. "The TV by the Numbers, zap2it" It premiered on October 8, 2013. "The TV Line" On July 22, 2013, The CW announced there was a spin off of Supernatural in the works, with the 20th episode of season nine serving as a back-door pilot. "The TV by the Numbers, zap2it" On January 29, 2014, it was revealed that the spin-off will be titled Supernatural: Bloodlines. "The TV Line" On February 13, 2014, The CW renewed the series for a tenth season. "The TV by the Numbers, zap2it" Conception and Creation Before bringing Supernatural to television, creator Eric Kripke had been developing the series for nearly ten years, "The USA Today" having been fascinated with urban legends since he was a child. "The Web Citation" Although he had envisioned Supernatural as a movie, "The Web Citation" he spent years unsuccessfully pitching it as a series. "The Web Citation" The concept went through several phases before becoming the eventual product, shifting from the original idea of an anthology series to one of tabloid reporters driving around the country in a van "fighting the demons in search of the truth. "The Web Citation" "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.8 Kripke wanted it to be a road trip series, feeling that it was the "best vehicle to tell these stories because it's pure, stripped down and uniguely American... These stories exist in these small towns all across the country, and it just makes so much sense to drive in and out of these stories." "The Web Citation" Because he had previously written for The WB series Tarzan, Kripke was offered the chance to pitch show idea s to the network, and used the opportunity for Supernatural. "The Web Citation" However, the network disliked his tabloid reporter idea, so Kripke successfully pitched his last-minute idea of the characters being brothers. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.6" He decided to have the brothers be from Lawrence, Kansas, because of its closeness to Stull Cemetery, a location famous for its urban legends. "The TV Guide" When it came time to name the two lead characters, Kripke decided on "Sal" and "Dean" as an homage to Jack Kerouac's road-trip novel On the Road. However, he felt that "Sal" was inappropriate for a main character, and changed the name to "Sam." "The Daily Telegraph" It was originally intended for the brothers' last name to be "Harrison" as a nod to actor Harrison Ford, as Kripke wanted Dean to have the "devil-may-care swagger of Han Solo." However, there was a Sam Harrison living in Kansas, so the name had to be changed for legal reasons. "The Web Citation" Combining his interest in the Winchester Mystery House and his desire to give the series the feel of "a modern-day Western", Kripke settled on the surname of "Winchester". However, this also presented a problem. The first name of Sam and Dean's father was originally "Jack", and there was a Jack Winchester residing in Kansas, so Kripke was forced to change the character's name to "John." "The Web Citation" Growing up, Kripke connected to television shows that had signature cars, such as The Dukes of Hazzard and Knight Rider. This prompted him to include one in Supernatural. "The Web Citation" He originally intended for the car to be a '65 Mustang, but his neighbor convinced him to change it to a '67 Impala, since "you can put a body in the trunk" and because "you want a car that, when people stop next to it at the lights, they lock their doors." "The Daily Telegraph" Kripke has commented, "It's a Rottweiler of a car, and I think it adds authenticity for fans of autmobiles because of that, because it's not a pretty ride. It's an aggressive, muscular car, and I think that's what people respond to, and why it fits so well into the tone of our show." "The Web Citation" Kripke had previously pitched the series to Fox executive Peter Johnson, and when Johnson moved to Wonderland Sound and Vision as president of TV, he contacted Kripke. "The Questia" Johnson soon signed on as co-executive producer, as did Wonderland owner McG as executive producer, with the production company set to make the pilot episode. Before it could be filmed, however, script issues needed to be dealt with. Originally, the brothers were not raised by their father, but rather by their aunt and uncle. Thus, when Dean comes to Sam for assistance in the pilot episode, he has to convince him that the supernatural exists. However, Kripke realized that this made the backstory too complicated, and reworked it with Peter so that their father raised them to be hunters. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), pp.8-10" The script went through many additional revisions. One of the original ideas was for Sam's girlfriend Jessica being revealed as a demon, which prompts him to join Dean on the road; however, Kripke felt it was more appropriate for Sam's motivation to be Jessica's death, so he had her killed in the same manner as Sam's mother, making them the "right bookends." "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p. 13" Other revised concepts include Sam believing Dean to be a serial killer that murders their father, "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.14" and their father dying in Jessica's place. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.11" Filming for the pilot episode was greenlit after director David Nutter, who previously had worked with Kripke on Tarzan, signed on. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.10""The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.21" When the series was eventually picked up, the studio brought on Robert Singer as executive producer, as it wanted Kripke to work with someone with production experience. Co-executive producer John Shiban was also hired to help design the series mythology for his previous work on The X-Files. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.12" Kripke had the series planned out for three seasons, but later expanded it to five, "The TV Guide" and hoped to end it there on a high note. "The Eclipse Magazine" Writing The staff for the first season consisted of Kripke and five other writers, with assistants to help with researching urban legends. "The Web Citation" Most of the work done in writing the series is very collaborative, with the writers often breaking up into groups. At the beginning of each season, the writers are brought together and pitch out their ideas, which are then assigned to a specific writer to be developed. Each story idea is outlined on a dry-erase board, with Kripke and Singer making necessary changes. Afterward, the script is written, "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 2 Companion), p.150" and Kripke goes through it to make sure it has the same tone as other episodes. "The Web Citation" Kripke found this task very difficult to do in the first season, "The TV Guide" but he felt it became easier by the third season, as the staff came to "really understand the show's style." "The TV Guide" The tone of Supernatural was heavily influenced by films such as Poltergeist - having the horror happen in a family setting rather than remote location - and Evil Dead 2 and An American Werewolf in London - having bits of comedy mixed in. Commenting on the former, Kripke added, "It's the idea that horror can happen in your own backyard. How many viewers have to worry about the vampire in the gothic castle?" "The Daily Telegraph" Other influences include The Two Sisters and Asian horror films The Eye, Ju-on, and Ring. "The Huffington Post" According to creator Eric Kripke, the show originally was intended to focus on the weekly monsters, with Sam and Dean Winchester merely being "an engine to get us in and out of different horror movies every week." "The Features Blogs, Chicago Tribune" His sole desire was to merely "scare the crap out of people." "The Web Citation" However, a few episodes in, Kripke and executive producer Robert Singer noticed the onscreen chemistry between Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. This revelation caused them to change the series to focus more on the brothers than the monsters, basing the weekly monster around the storyline they wanted for the Winchesters. According to Kripke, "...sometimes we don't even have the monster until way late in the break, once we get all the angst and the drama done first. "The Features Blogs, Chicago Tribune" Unlike shows with "endless mythology" like Lost, Kripke prefers to keep Supernatural's mythology simpler, saying, "It's so hard to go season after season after season with a mystery and then provide an answer that's going to be satisfying." He prefers to have the series' structure like that of the earlier X-Files episodes, having mythology - based episodes spread through many self-enclosed episodes - Supernatural usually having three self-enclosed episodes followed by a mythology episode. With this format, viewers do not have to have previous knowledge of the mythology in order to watch the series, being able to "join the party at any time." "The Futon Critic" Effects Though companies were hired for work on the pilot episode - such as Entity FX for the visual effects "The Entity FX" - effects departments now work exclusively for the series. "The Supernatural Season 3 DVD featurette "From Legends to Reality" (DVD)" Ivan Hayden is the visual effects supervisor, and works with many levels of the production staff. During pre-production, Hayden must go through the scripts, looking for possible visual effects. He then has a concept meeting with the writers, and after settling on the effect designs to use, coordinates with the special effects and stunt departments. Hayden is also present during filming to help the director make sure that the scenes are being filmed in the best way for the visual effects, such as by ensuring that the actors are looking at the correct location where an effect will later be added. Afterward, he then meets with the editors."The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 2 Companion), p.144" Another aspect of the visual effects department is coming up with rules and physics for each supernatural creature, "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 2 Companion), p.144" though the rules are often bent if it benefits the story. "Supernatural Season 3 DVD featurette "From Legends to Reality" (DVD)" In 2012, it was announced that Hayden will be working at the new Vancouver location of Encore for its VFX division. "The News Wire" Music Supernatural features a synthesized orchestral score, although traditional acoustic instruments such as guitars and cells are used at times. Special instruments have also been used in specific episodes, such as "bluesy gospel music" played on a broken-down piano in the faith-healing episode "Faith." Unlike other television shows, the series features two composers: Christopher Lennertz and Jay Gruska. "The Mania" Each composer scores every other episode, giving them extra time to write the scores, which usually end up being around 30 minutes per episode. They write themes for their own episodes and characters and work with one another if there is overlap between episodes. They try to base the music on the visuals of the episode, such as in the episode "Dead in the Water," in which off-angle shots are accompanied by repetitive and discordant notes, and spoken words such as "water" and "die" are followed by a lower pitch to create a "gurgly" sound. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.147" While there are similarities in the scores for situations such as the brothers and ther father, about a third of each episode's score is newly written for the series."The Mania" While original scores are used throughout episodes, another important aspect of the series' music is the use of classic rock, over which creator Eric Kripke threatened to quit when the netowkr would not allow its inclusion. Most of the songs are from Kripke's private collection, although one of his favorite bands - Led Zeppelin - is too expensive to use. Some episode titles are references to Led Zeppelin songs."The Eclipse Magazine, Supernatural Creator Eric Kripke Answers Fan Questions - Part 1" The series has featured such bands as Blue Oyster Cult, Bad Company, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rush, Boston, Triumph and AC/DC on more than one occasion. Multiple songs are usually used throughout each episodes, and accompany "The Road So Far" sequences before select episodes that highlight a montage of past events. Although Kripke prefers to keep a fine line between the score and songs used, sometimes Lennertz and Gruska are required to write short sections of rock-like music to fill 15-to-20-second gaps, as it would be too costly to acquire song rights. Usually on the last episode of every season, the song "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas is played at the beginning."The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.148: Filming Locations Though the pilot was filmed in Los Angeles, principal filming takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia."The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.14" Thus, on-location filming usually takes place in the area. "Dead in the Water" was filmed at Buntzen Lake, "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 1 Companion), p.28" and the final scenes of "Simon Said" were filmed at Cleveland Dam. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 2 Companion), p.40" Other locations used on the show are often reused two or three times, with the art department making variations to conceal this. "The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 3 Companion), p.134" Heritage Park in Burnaby has been used as a cemetery in "Red Sky at Morning", and as the location of the gingerbread-house cottage in "Bedtime Stories"."The Knight, Nicholas, (Season 3 Companion), p.44" Also, Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam has served many functions for the series, including an asylum in "Asylum", Online Distribution DVD and Blu-Ray Disc Releases Cast and Characters Season 1 Summary Season 2 Summary Season 3 Summary Season 4 Summary Season 5 Summary Season 6 Summary Season 7 Summary Season 8 Summary Season 9 Summary Season 10 Summary Recurring Elements The Colt Impala Ruby's Knife Trouble with the Law Word of God Tablets Promotion and Tie-Ins Merchandise Spin-Off Series Ratings Awards and Nominations Reception Syndication Fandom and Popular Culture References